I feel like a very lucky reader. Every since I joined the bookstagram community I have enjoyed reading all the reviews posted. It has helped me pick the best books to read each month. Therefore I feel I am reading quality books with a variety of content. Historical fiction has become one of my favorite genres and I try to find books with settings in different countries and eras. Bookstagramers are so knowledgeable and great at finding true treasures. My favorite book this month was Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton. It is a historical fiction with some romance. It is the first book I have ever read that takes place in Cuba and it was very informative. Out of My Mind was the only middle grade book I read but it was amazing. Reading about a young girl with severe disabilities trying to understand and be accepted in a world where friends and and verbal communication is so important.
Fiction Books: 5 books
The Cactus ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lost for Words Bookshop ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Mystery of the Blue Train ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Next Year in Havana ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Shadow of the Wind ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nonfiction Books: 4 books
Camp Grandma ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Dutch Girl ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Garlic and Sapphires ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Literary Paris ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Middle Grade Books: 1 book
Out of My Mind ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Total of 10 books
“What's right isn't always popular, and what’s popular isn't always right.”
S. Draper
This is⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Star Book the final story I read with my fifth grade girls this school year. Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper is an excellent book to help students understand what it might be like to have a disability and to be judged by everyone around you. The main character Melody cannot speak or use her arms and legs. For my girls to begin to understand what that meant was eye opening experience for them. One of my girls just wanted her to “get better.” It took a bit of understanding to get to the point that there was no cure just adaptations. We had several conversations about the word normal. I ❤️ this book. It had so many discussion points for our book talks.
This book is also on my Battle of the Books list for the 19/20 school year.
“Few things leave a deeper mark on the reader, than the first book that finds its way to his heart.”
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is an intriguing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 star book. I have been thinking through my thoughts of this book for a week now. The story is about a young man named Daniel who lives in Barcelona after the Spanish Civil War. When the book begins, Daniel, is just a little boy. His father takes him to the hidden library where he finds an old book, The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. His dad tells him it is his responsibility to take care of this old book for the rest of his life. As Daniel learns more about his book he finds out it is the only copy of it left in print. Daniel begins to research more about the book and its author which leads him into a lot of danger.
“What is better than a great relationship…...Camp Grandma, when all is said and done, is about bringing my family, my grandchildren together to build deep and lasting relationships. --M. W. Day
Camp Grandma by Marianne Waggoner Day is a book that caught my attention because I spend a great deal of time with my grandchildren. The book explores the teaching opportunities grandparents have each time they have their grandchildren over especially if they are a primary child care provider.
Day focuses her examples on older children but you can simplify and apply her ideas to younger children as well. What I like about this book is Day’s emphasis on providing continuous opportunities for all your grandchildren to experience activities and events together. To provide them with a sense of a larger family being together, working together, making decisions together and creating memories together.
My three little “buddies” a term passed down from my parents are my joy right now. I try to do as much as I possibly can with them. I know the boys will start preschool next year and I will lose a lot of my time with them. This summer we started a butterfly garden. I hope to make this a yearly tradition. I love the joy and curiosity I see in their faces, however I hate cleaning caterpillar poop.
“Life is too short to be unhappy, to play it safe. To do what is expected of you rather than follow your heart.”
--C. Cleeton
Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star read. It is a historical fiction book written in a dual timeline in Cuba. It starts out with Marisol Ferrera in Miami, 2017, who just lost her grandmother. (Elisa)
Marisol was very close to her grandmother, she had raised her. Her grandmother’s dying wish was for Marisol to go to Havana and scatter her ashes.
When Marisol arrives in Havana, Cuba, she begins to learn secrets her grandmother had kept from her and the family for years. Marisol learns a lot of her family history from her grandmother’s best friend, Ana, and even more history from her grandson, Luis. The most important lesson Marisol learns is to be brave.
This book is well written. It has two love stories in it and a lot of history about Cuba. It is hard to put down I was very captivated by the story and just wanted to read one more chapter.
I read this book with my sister and I can’t wait for her to finish so we can have a discussion.
“When a person has lived generously and fought fiercely, she deserves more than sadness at the end.”
― R. Reichl
I picked up the book Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl because I saw it in Anne Bogel’s, Summer Reading Guide 2019. It was in her article 7 Favorites from 7 Past Years of Summer Reading Guides. How could I pass up a book with such high recommendations AND BONUS there was no waiting for it on Overdrive. I listened to it on audio and loved it. Ruth escapades as a food critic are hilarious. I know I would never eat some of the seafood Ruth eats but it was fun to hear her stories. My favorite part of the book is the costumes. I would give this book a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating.
“Nobody bothers children who read.”
— S. Butland
When you read a book because it falls into the category books about books you never know what you are going to get. However I am rarely disappointed and always pleasantly surprised. The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland is just one of those books that just grew and grew on me until I couldn’t put it down.
Loveday Cardew has had a tough life but you will never know about it because she doesn’t share details of her life with ANYONE! She has worked in the same bookstore since she was 15 years old. She loves to read and she has some of her favorite lines from books tattoo on her body.
She appears to have her life all figured out for herself until she meets a poet.
Then things really begin to happen. Books from her childhood appear at the store. A former boyfriend is stalking her. Then there is the poet who is reminding Loveday of memories of the past.
Loveday is questioning everything she thought to be true.
I really enjoyed reading this book and give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars.
A good book is an event in my life.”
--Stendhal
I preordered my copy of Literary Paris by Nichole Robertson and received it the day it was published in June this year. I just didn’t have a moment to sit down and enjoy and absorb the book until today. This is the second book by N. Robertson that I have purchased. I also have Paris in Color. First I have to say I LOVE Paris! The books are like taking a quiet little tour of Paris every time you sit down and page through them.
Literary Paris is photos of bookstores, libraries and other famous places that authors and poets have lived or visited. I love the unique book statues that Nichole found throughout Paris. She mixed famous book quotes with her photos to create a tour of Paris through a literary lens. I love this adorable and charming book.
“I can testify to what UNICEF means to children, because I was among those who received food and medical relief right after World War II. I have a long-lasting gratitude and trust for what UNICEF does.”
—A. Hepburn
Dutch Girl by Robert Matzen was the book my teacher friends picked for our book club this month. The book intrigued me because when Audrey Hepburn was originally offered the role of Anne in the Anne Frank Movie she turned it down because it was too close to the life she lead during WWII.
This was the hook I needed to read this book. I wanted to know how her life was similar to Anne Frank’s. For most of the war it appeared Audrey’s life was very different. However toward the end of the war Audrey witnessed and experienced some horrible effects of the war. She lived on the front line of the war. Food and heat was scarce during the last winter of the war. Life for the citizens in the small town was extremely hard. Audrey did not talk much in public about her life during WWII and after reading the book I can understand why.
“But when a man is really in love he can't help looking like a sheep.”
—A. Christie
The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie was by far one of her better books that I read so far. To me the story seemed to flow better. There was not a lot of unnecessary characters and details. I felt like I was reading a mystery and not playing the game Clue. This was the first time I didn’t predict the murder on my own. I just enjoyed this story. I give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars.
Susan is quite a character in the book, The Cactus, by Sarah Hayward. She is somewhere between Britt-Marie (Fredrik Backman) and Eleanor Oliphant (Gail Honeyman.) It took me a bit to warm up to her, she is so quirky and awkward. She comes off as a cold person but really she does have a big heart. She doesn’t know how to express herself and let people get close to her. All her life she has had to built a strong emotional wall around her to survive. This story was great. I thought is was going to be a light read and really there so much more to it. Family drama, romance, taking risks in life and a family secrets. Overall it was very enjoyable and that is why it was Reese Witherspoon’s Book of the Month. I give it **** stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment